Two new additions

It's taken a little bit of time to get these balls done and this blog entry posted as we've had some minor water damage to our carpets and the house is in disarray. I'm not so happy with how these worked up - both seem to be lacking in something, or I havent got the colours quite right. The squares pattern has a few errors on it - which I'm not too worried about as it's the first time I have done the pattern, but the colours are not quite right. It's actually a more purple colour in 'real life', but it still doesnt quite work for me. It still need some metallic embellishment on it. Maybe that will give it a bit of zest.

The second ball is a pattern from Debi A. Debi has some fantastic patterns on her website - Temari Math -go and have a look. I've used these colours on a ball before and they worked really well, however this time they left me feeling a little less impressed. Maybe it was because they were a slightly darker shade.

Not to worry. There are plenty more temari to make, in plenty more colour and pattern combinations. Part of the reason I think I love making temari so much is that there are an infinite numbers of ways to combine colours and patterns, and each one gives a different effect.

My next challenge is to create a ball for my GITS partner for the lunar new year GITS. It will certainly challenge me - the colours I need to use are red, green, white and gold, or somehow incorporate a rabbit into the design, as 2011 is the year of the rabbit. I'll post a pic once my partner has received it. I'm thinking ahead to next year - the year of the Dragon - and an idea is already forming for a pattern....!!!

Kyo Kiku

I thought I'd pop up a pic of my latest ball too. This one is an S12 kiku, and is done in shaded pink Kyo Rayon threads. I'm just starting to work with these threads, and I noted a couple of things about them: They are difficult for me to get a decent photo of due to their incredible shine/lustre. They are also different to handle as they seem to be quite fluid in how they move. And thirdly, they are absolutely beautiful. This picture doesn't do the threads any justice.

Starting off the year.....

I realise this post is a little late in coming, considering it's about the New Years GITS that I just participated in. In this swap, each participant had to send a temari to their swap partner, and it had to arrive by New Years Eve, so it could be opened in the New Year. I was partnered with Sue in New York, and my parcel arrived with plenty of time to spare. At 11:59 on Dec 31, I was waiting with scissors in hand to cut the tape on the box. I was amazed at the temari that emerged. It's a beautiful C10 in blue/green and lilac. I spent quite some time turning the ball over and over and looking at the stitching. I haven't progressed to the C10 division yet, and am so excited to see one 'in person'. Here it is:

And here is the ball I sent Sue in the same swap:

They say you should start the new year off as you intend to continue. I think having a temari in my hands was a great way to start, and it's how I hope to continue. My creative new years goals are to improve my temari by studying and practicing more, to try my hand at yubinuki (thimble rings) and complete an 8-week introductory Botanical Art course that I have been looking at for a while - which is yet another endeavour, but I don't think it stands a chance at replacing my temari obsession!!!

I hope you all had a fantastic new years and wish you all the best for 2011.

Happy days.......

I have recently been on a short holiday to the countryside of Northern New South Wales. It is (to me at least) one of the most beautiful areas of Australia, and luckily only a few hours drive from my house.

Just before I left, I ordered some threads from Rebecca, and along with my order came a beautiful lilac temari and a Temari Addict coffee mug. It was a lovely surprise and I'm excited to see this type of pattern 'in person'. It's a variation of a swirl pattern, and if you click the image you can see the detail in the stitching. Thanks Rebecca!

My holiday lasted only 4 nights but was amazing. I could have quite happily spent another month there, but 'normal' life must keep going. Here is a picture of the cabin where I stayed. It is pretty much just a bed with a roof, and a little porch with a couple of chairs. I spent most of my time sat on the porch stitching temari and reading.

I ended up reading two novels and stitching 4 temari. I had the balls already made, so all I needed to do was stitch. I didn't take any patterns, books or instructions with me. My theory was that I needed to spend time being unstructured, and this applied to temari as well. So......using nothing but my head, I stitched a C8, JD, Kiku and another JD:

My aim was not to be too structured, not to be overly concerned with precision. The balls were ones from when I first started making temari and not very round, the marking wasn't very precise, and hence the stitching was not as exact as it could have been. BUT.......I stitched for the pure joy of it and had the best time. I didn't debate the colours, I just picked them. I tried not to thing tooooo much about the what/where/how's, and just take an idea and put it on the ball. And I think, overall, the results aren't too bad. I particularly like the pale purple one with the pink/green/yellow stitching. I'm going to re-do it with a slight variation on the obi part, and a bit more precision!

When I got home, I found out that the ball I sent to my Grandma had been shown around, and could I please make one as a 21st gift for another family member. Serendipitously, the colours requested were the colours I was already using on a ball, the pattern worked nicely, and so I think this one will fly south as a gift. It is done in Kyo rayons, which adds that extra element of special to the ball - perfect for a special gift. This is it here:

To top it off, I received my New Years GITS from Sue S in the mail. Looking at the brown cardboard box has nearly driven me to insanity, and it's only been 24 hours. Anyone who knows me can tell you that insatiable curiosity is a major part of my personality, for better and for worse. And when you link that with impatience, well....you get the idea! The fact that I not only have a temari that I cannot see, have no idea what colour it is, what pattern it is, and that it has been made just for me, as well as giving me a specific date that I have to WAIT for..... it's driving me nuts!! I have hidden it in my temari room, behind the books, so that I cant see it. Hopefully that will make it easier!!

I hope everyone has a happy holiday time filled with good cheer and happiness.

Temari treasure arrived today

Today the mail lady dropped off my temari supplies order from Ai at TenTemari. I was so excited when I saw the box. Inside was a treasure trove of goodies. I got some bunka thread, clear rings for temari to sit on, and some plastic cores, as well as a roll of paper tape to weave a base out of. I know I can make these things myself, and probably will in the future, I just thought since I was ordering other things I might as well get them too. There was also the piece I was most excited to see - a musical mari base. I'm going to use it for a gift temari. I have an idea of the who/when it is for, and it plays quite a nice tune (hina matsuri).

The reason for my order was that my family get stuck trying to find birthday and Christmas gifts for me, so this year I asked for temari books and a musical mari base for myself. I had to put them back in the box to go to my parents house - and it was soooo difficult not to look through the books!!!

I cant wait till christmas to be able to look at all the amazing designs!!! The musical base plays "moon from ruined castle". It has a lovely haunting melody. I'm thinking it needs a design coloured in twilight shades like indigo and soft violet. I'm not in a hurry to stitch it as I want it to be a really effective piece.

Anyhow, I'm off to continue stitching my current project - and to browse books for possible patterns for the 'moon ball'. I hadnt let myself look at patterns in case the postal system kidnapped my order :)

Latest creations

It's been a little while since the last post, life has been getting in the way of temari, and the temari that I have made have been intended as gifts, so I couldn't share them until they had been received. The good news is I can share two of them with you. I made the first one while procrastinating about another pattern (which I'm still avoiding). It's an S12 Kiku that now lives with Rebecca in Perth.

This next one is a thankyou present for my grandparents. Grandma kindly shared her stash of wool with me again, and now I have quite a hefty stockpile of yarn-wrap for temari. It is my second attempt at this pattern, and I was happy with how it turned out. I'm now doing this pattern for a third time - with the Japanese kyo rayons in my fav combo of black, white, blue and purple. Hopefully it wont be long before I can get it finished off and post it on here for you to see.

Two out of three aint bad.....

I finished the Kiku I was working on! Not that it was that hard, I just had to sit down for longer than 10 minutes and finish it off. I'm afraid I can't show you what it looks like yet though, it's a present for someone, so after they receive it, I'll post a pic. It actually turned out a little better than I expected, which is always nice. Still a bit of wabi-sabi going on, but it's worked out nicely (I think anyway).

I also decided on a pattern for the GITS. Now I need to choose some colours and stitch it up. That should be fun.

And the pattern a la procrastination - that's the one out of three I didnt get to yet!